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So an idiot contractor decided to dry some plaster on my ceiling using a heat gun, the patch he was drying just happened to be next to a fire sprinkler. Funny enough, the sprinkler went off and flooded my condo. Now that I have 2 feet of dry wall missing on all my walls I want to run some ethernet cable, but I've found one spot that I'm not sure how to proceed with so any help would be appreciated. Basically I have a steel stud nailed to my wall that is used to attach dry wall. I need a way to go under it. Would it be ok to try a drill a hole through the stud? SHould I go through the concrete? I've attached a picture of the corner.
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Mar 1, 2013 18:48
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I will be replacing the expansion tank on our heating system probably this weekend. Is it necessary to replace the safety valve on the heating system as well? It has definitely sprayed out water once or twice but as far as I can tell it still seems to work. I wasn't planning on it but I was suddenly told this is also necessary but I'd like to confirm it first.
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Mar 1, 2013 19:05
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/lord1234/8496923625/in/set-72157632830578428 As you can see, the cabinet directly under the sink has two small "drawers" that aren't actually drawers. They were originally held on with some plastic things that were stapled on. I tried to get them off without breaking them, but sadly the plastic thingy's are broken. Can anyone identify what they are called, and where to get them(I am hoping this is a Home Depot purchase)
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Mar 1, 2013 21:01
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lord1234 posted:http://www.flickr.com/photos/lord1234/8496923625/in/set-72157632830578428 Just grab some lath and tack them back on.
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Mar 1, 2013 21:15
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Puck42 posted:Basically I have a steel stud nailed to my wall that is used to attach dry wall. I need a way to go under it.
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Mar 1, 2013 21:25
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Can someone point me in the direction of a general furniture arrangement, simple interior decorating, thread? I'm living in a tiny room with my boyfriend and I'd love some feedback on how to make it more efficient/livable.
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Mar 2, 2013 01:04
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Halcyon Leviathan posted:Can someone point me in the direction of a general furniture arrangement, simple interior decorating, thread? I'm living in a tiny room with my boyfriend and I'd love some feedback on how to make it more efficient/livable. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
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Mar 2, 2013 01:45
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I am in need of some electrical advice. I have a high voltage, high frequency, low current electrical device, a plasma globe. Now what I need is a way to oscillate it on and off, perhaps a dial that I can use to change the frequency of the oscillation. If it was electronics I would know where to start but with this essentially analog static electricity I'm bit lost. Anyone got any ideas here?
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Mar 2, 2013 22:19
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Aramoro posted:I am in need of some electrical advice. I have a high voltage, high frequency, low current electrical device, a plasma globe. Now what I need is a way to oscillate it on and off, perhaps a dial that I can use to change the frequency of the oscillation. If it was electronics I would know where to start but with this essentially analog static electricity I'm bit lost. Anyone got any ideas here? Circuitry Thread may be better. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2734977 Or electrical thread. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3090739 But you may be limited by some physical limitation of the device (i.e. a minimal charge/discharge window) that may preclude your wishes.
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Mar 2, 2013 22:43
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Circuitry Thread may be better. Ah thanks I'll try over in the electrical thread. I'm concerned that the nature of device will make this impossible but thought I would ask the question just in case.
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Mar 2, 2013 22:51
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Hey guys, I've moved into a new apartment and it's got a clawfoot tub with a really stupid shower head location. Without major plumbing work I want to hook up a new shower hose to the existing head and relocate a new head to the curtain rod ring thing. I can see how to do this easily enough. What I can't see is how I'm going to attach a shower head to a curtain rod. It doesn't seem like there's hardware ready made or even easily adaptable for this. That, or my Google-fu is utterly failing me. Any inspiration on how I can get this done? EDIT: It involves plumbing but the problem isn't really a plumbing one. Hope it's cool here.
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Mar 3, 2013 02:39
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Backov posted:Hey guys, Would an extender work? If not, I would use some PVC that was wide enough to hold a hand shower, drill two or four holes in it and zip-tie it to the rod.
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Mar 3, 2013 02:59
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Backov posted:Any inspiration on how I can get this done?
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Mar 3, 2013 16:05
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Anyone have any luck replacing a bed's side rails? We have an awesome vintage 60s midcentury modern full-size bed but the side rails are typical metal (iron?) L-shaped beams. The bed uses the dual finger quick connect system. My SO and I are relatively heavy so the side rails bow out and the slats just fall to the floor. It looks like I can buy replacement wooden rails on the net for about $100, as well as a center support rail that ties both sides together. Would these steps, as well as better and wider slats, stop this madness? The bed was also a little rickety and readily shaked laterally. Would the large wood beams stop this? I am not opposed to bolting the fucker together.
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Mar 4, 2013 03:00
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^^ Is there a way you could screw the side beams together with one of those screw-hole-perforated strips of metal in a few places? Or, would it be possible to just buy a new bed frame and mount the headboard and footboard to it? The only bedframes I have experience with have been Ikea stuff or solid wood antique stuff. As for my question: Last spring I picked an awesome antique dining room set for a hundred bucks. The table is an extending Victorian reproduction from the 40's. The top is most likely plywood (with a nice layer of walnut as the surface). Anywho, for a party, we needed to extend the table. It was giving us some resistance, so I told my roommate and friend to make sure they were doing it right before yanking, but no, just OKAY ONE TWO THREE PULL! Turns out they didn't release the latch on the underside that locked the halves of the table together, so the extender runner things got stripped out of the underside on one side of the table. We didn't realize how badly damaged it was, so we kept using the table, moved table to new house, extended again, and finally after getting worse and worse, the only reason it didn't fall in on itself is because it has six legs instead of just four. Table is currently lying upside down and I've removed the runner assemblies. The screw holes on the one half are horribly stripped/gouged out, so in order to fix the thing I need to fill the holes in with something so I can screw the runner assemblies back in. So, what is the best way to go about this? Wood filler? Wood glue? Wood glue/sawdust blend? Would I need to drill new holes for the screws? Tried to research repairs but all I got was poo poo about refinishing tables or tables for sale. Ugh. I'm competent with tools and basic carpentry, just not sure of the best method for making this sort of repair. These runners are not load-bearing or anything (underwent weird stresses after first break, though, which caused more screws to pull out over time) - they only need to be strong enough to keep the runner beam in line for the occasional extension for holidays and parties. Or would this be a better question for the wood-working thread?
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Mar 4, 2013 04:03
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Fixed Gear Guy posted:Anyone have any luck replacing a bed's side rails? We have an awesome vintage 60s midcentury modern full-size bed but the side rails are typical metal (iron?) L-shaped beams. The bed uses the dual finger quick connect system. My SO and I are relatively heavy so the side rails bow out and the slats just fall to the floor. It looks like I can buy replacement wooden rails on the net for about $100, as well as a center support rail that ties both sides together. Would these steps, as well as better and wider slats, stop this madness? I built a new frame out of 2x4s laid across a box of 2x12s. Cost about $40 total. I did it because I am heavy as well, but mostly because it kept the bed from shaking whenever either of us moved.
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Mar 4, 2013 05:31
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Authentic You posted:^^ Is there a way you could screw the side beams together with one of those screw-hole-perforated strips of metal in a few places? Or, would it be possible to just buy a new bed frame and mount the headboard and footboard to it? The only bedframes I have experience with have been Ikea stuff or solid wood antique stuff. Try drilling the holes out. Glue in a piece of dowel rod and screw into that.
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Mar 4, 2013 14:03
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lord1234 posted:Try drilling the holes out. Glue in a piece of dowel rod and screw into that. Another possible option - instead of fixing the stripped holes, can you move the runners an inch to the left or right and drill new holes?
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Mar 4, 2013 14:25
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lord1234 posted:Try drilling the holes out. Glue in a piece of dowel rod and screw into that. emanonii posted:Another possible option - instead of fixing the stripped holes, can you move the runners an inch to the left or right and drill new holes?
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Mar 4, 2013 17:55
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Authentic You posted:Ah right, I learned about these sorts of techniques in prototyping class, buut forgot. I'll probably have to pick up one of those floppy dowel saws (or measure super precisely). This sounds like a solid fix, more so than just plugging it with wood filler and hoping it holds. The wood filler I have is really just for filling in stuff for aesthetic fixes (old nail holes and gashes in your floor and poo poo). Dowel replacement in the holes sounds like a good idea. You could also try the epoxy type wood fillers instead. You have to be fairly quick with those since they start curing in minutes. Or maybe post a picture so that we can see how bad it is?
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Mar 4, 2013 18:12
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I created a "wood floor" for my wife's photography business. It is not structural at all, just a nice, rustic surface to photograph objects on top of. Problem: Two of the slats aren't laying flat and I'd like to flatten them if at all possible. Should I be: soaking the entire thing with water, applying enough water just to get it wet, or using steam to relax the wood; then lay something heavy on top as it dries? I remember watching a documentary on galleon-building and saw that subjecting the wood to steam helped ship-builders curve the wood for the ship's bow. I do not want to construct a galleon, however fun it sounds. Similar process for barrel-making, but I am digressing hard. wood: (10) 1" x 6" x 6' generic whitewood from Home Depot frame: (2) 1" x 2" x 6' pieces used for framing along the north and south ends of the rectangle to keep the slats in a fixed position while the floor is moved around the studio nails: 3" long wood screws, affixed through the frame into the slats, from the side sanding/staining/treatment: none yet, wanted to flatten first Right now I have an old heavy TV set and my air compressor sitting on the boards since last night. The floor is currently in my garage at about 65 degrees, which is a cold snap in south Florida.
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Mar 4, 2013 19:11
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Suave Fedora posted:I created a "wood floor" for my wife's photography business. It is not structural at all, just a nice, rustic surface to photograph objects on top of. How long did you let the wood sit in the studio before you put the thing together? My best guess is you got the supplies, put it together, and when it acclimated to the humidity of the studio some of the boards buckled because they could not expand (screwed in.) So disassemble the entire thing, let it sit in the studio for a couple days as the air is likely dryer than outside Florida, then drill new holes and put it together.
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Mar 4, 2013 19:56
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Has anyone done leather repair? We have a leather couch with a number of suspiciously cat-claw shaped holes in it (and also a corner that looks significantly rubbed off... so some bigger patches) and I would like to try to seal them up. Is there some kind of glue/silicone/something that's recommended as a filler, or do you have to go to some of the dubious "magic liquid leather!!" kits to get something that will work at all?
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Mar 4, 2013 20:38
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This may or may not warrant it's own thread: I'm looking to put in a floating wood floor in my den. I hate the carpeting and plan on using my tax return to put down some decent wood flooring. It's concrete slab underneath the carpet, and I'm looking to get some of the snap-and-lock flooring that requires minimal adhesives. Does anyone have experience doing a project like this? Any good guides to doing it online?
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Mar 4, 2013 20:42
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^ I did this in my house and after the first room you will be laying down wood like a pro. Special tools will be needed like a mallet and iron setters that displace the force of the mallet as you connect slats together. You will also need a miter saw to cut the slats. There are also different patterns you can do but the easiest would probably be to lay down board in a row until you get to the end, cut, then use the remaining cut piece to start the 2nd row. Repeat all the way down. XmasGiftFromWife posted:How long did you let the wood sit in the studio before you put the thing together? My best guess is you got the supplies, put it together, and when it acclimated to the humidity of the studio some of the boards buckled because they could not expand (screwed in.) It's not yet in the studio; it's still in my garage. I took the wood straight from home depot (room temp) and brought directly to the garage for assembly (open to air, 60F). The wood probably experience a temp difference of 10-15 degrees, from warmer to cooler, in that time. If anything, there was a contraction - Home Deport was warmer than my garage. Yes I broke the rule about letting wood sit 48 hours and to assemble it where it will be used, but time is not something we have much of and the studio is 20 miles away (she only uses it on weekends). Putting all the pieces together was a monumental pain in the rear end, drilling more holes isn't going to work because I used 4 screws to attach each slat's edge to the "frame", so really I'm looking for a creative way to get it flat if anyone has ideas. I'd post pictures to better explain the way I attached the wood and why redrilling new holes wouldn't work, but work is a dick about image share sites.  edit: This is the best I could do using my phone. behold my ms paint prowess. let me know if the link didnt go through. Gray dashes show where the screws connect the pieces. The black holes are pilot holes that I drilled to allow the screws to sink in longer into the slats. e2: ok here goes, I am not responsible for exploding monitors Suave Fedora fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Mar 4, 2013 |
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Mar 4, 2013 20:49
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edit: ^^ just replace (img) with (timg). I love that this is a cellphone picture of MSpaint. Did you check all of the lumber for squareness when you purchased? Did you build it that way because you wanted it to lay flat? What is the maximum weight it needs to hold? The easiest solution would be to run some furring strips or similar to provide framing support. EvilMayo fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Mar 4, 2013 |
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Mar 4, 2013 21:56
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:edit: ^^ just replace (img) with (timg). Also anything on imgur you can stick an l on the end of the filename for an automatic large thumbnail: 
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Mar 4, 2013 23:28
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:edit: ^^ just replace (img) with (timg). Thanks. I thought the "grain" from the monitor was a nice, if unintended, touch. No I didn't check for squareness or flatness. Yes. I tried to make my case to my wife that I should make it more of a platform but she insisted on it being 1) as lightweight as possible and 2) as flat as possible. I lost that one. Because it was intended to be flat (no space between wood and floor), it can take any weight, but the subjects are newborns weighting 6-10 lbs, plus props of maybe another 10 lbs at the most. I have to admit I had to look up what furring strips were. If I end up going that route I suppose I can reinforce diagonally but she would have no choice but to let me platform it a few inches off the ground to account for the furring. Which means more wood, and she's not going to want to spend any more money on this than she has to (we just finished canceling our cable to save money). Here are some updated pics:   I'm thinking about laying concrete blocks across much of the surface area and letting it sit for a few days and see if that helps flatten the wood some. If not I'll dampen with warm water and repeat. If not I'll beltsand the son of a bitch down.
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Mar 5, 2013 05:39
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Big box lumber tends to be very very wet and when it starts to dry, it badly warps. Kiln dried is best but HD only carries 2x4 studs KD. Lumber yards will have better stock. You can also dry your own lumber in a close stack with weights on it but it takes time/planning. Finally, you can use joinery like tongue and groove, dovetails, pins, etc to discourage movement in green wood
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Mar 5, 2013 06:53
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Suave Fedora posted:I'm thinking about laying concrete blocks across much of the surface area and letting it sit for a few days and see if that helps flatten the wood some. If not I'll dampen with warm water and repeat. If not I'll beltsand the son of a bitch down. All the weight in the world won't make any difference. Stand the floor up and let it dry for a week then hand plane it flat or use an electric sander with aggressive paper. You have two problems... one is that construction lumber is relatively wet, second is that wood never dries evenly and whichever part dries first will cause the wood to cup or bow in that direction, when the ends dry too fast the board checks (splits). Laying it the floor hurts more than helps because the top gets more airflow and dries faster. Dampening the wood is a crapshoot as to whether it will help or cause more problems.
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Mar 5, 2013 09:32
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You really need to use tongue & groove for an application like that. At this point, taking it apart and rejoining with dowels or biscuits is probably your best solution.
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Mar 5, 2013 13:55
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dwoloz posted:Big box lumber tends to be very very wet and when it starts to dry, it badly warps. Kiln dried is best but HD only carries 2x4 studs KD. Lumber yards will have better stock. You can also dry your own lumber in a close stack with weights on it but it takes time/planning. Finally, you can use joinery like tongue and groove, dovetails, pins, etc to discourage movement in green wood Thirding. When I was building my garage it took forever to go through the lumber at Lowe's & Home Depot. After weeding out warping & knots, the truest boards had to be discarded if they were too heavy - the mass difference was obvious: they were saturated. And this was their "select" boards. You can rent an electric plane as well...speeds things up considerably.
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Mar 5, 2013 15:02
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dwoloz posted:Big box lumber tends to be very very wet and when it starts to dry, it badly warps. Kiln dried is best but HD only carries 2x4 studs KD. Lumber yards will have better stock. You can also dry your own lumber in a close stack with weights on it but it takes time/planning. Finally, you can use joinery like tongue and groove, dovetails, pins, etc to discourage movement in green wood I didn't know that about them being wet. Good to know moving forward if I ever have to put something together that needs to be exact. I didn't know about green vs seasoned wood either. wormil posted:All the weight in the world won't make any difference. Stand the floor up and let it dry for a week then hand plane it flat or use an electric sander with aggressive paper. You have two problems... one is that construction lumber is relatively wet, second is that wood never dries evenly and whichever part dries first will cause the wood to cup or bow in that direction, when the ends dry too fast the board checks (splits). Laying it the floor hurts more than helps because the top gets more airflow and dries faster. Dampening the wood is a crapshoot as to whether it will help or cause more problems. There are a lot of variables I simply don't know: how wet was the wood, how long it has been at the store, and the rate of evaporation of the wood. What do you think about letting it dry as you mentioned, then using wood glue + weights to glue it level? The bulge is not that pronounced, maybe a quarter inch of rise or so. grover posted:You really need to use tongue & groove for an application like that. At this point, taking it apart and rejoining with dowels or biscuits is probably your best solution. The kicker in all this is that I had originally purchased tongued & grooved slats and after putting them together, they were very flat and looked perfect, but she made me return them because they were $11 each versus $6. If she wants a second floor, I'm using T&G boards. I've never used dowels or biscuits before; something I need to learn how to use. Thanks for all the replies. I'll keep the water away. poo poo, had to look up a lot of things mentioned, from biscuits to green wood. It never would have occurred to me that there would be/could be that much moisture still left in box store wood. Home Depot 
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Mar 5, 2013 15:50
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Suave Fedora posted:I had originally purchased tongued & grooved slats and after putting them together, they were very flat and looked perfect, but she made me return them because they were $11 each versus $6. Gotta spend money to make money. 
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Mar 5, 2013 16:16
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I'm looking to "extend" my doors, so that I can stop some draftiness. This past winter, I've been using http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-601900-Draft-Guard-Brown/dp/B00078ZJPG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362500117&sr=8-3&keywords=draft+stopper, but the gaps are about 1.5-1.75" large, so the foam will always roll under the door when trying to close it. Would something like http://www.blujay.com/item/Door-Extender-Kit-To-fill-1-inch-gap-Medium-White-11040200-3260066 work? I guess if I use that + the draft stopper, it'd help.
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Mar 5, 2013 17:17
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BoyBlunder posted:I'm looking to "extend" my doors, so that I can stop some draftiness. This past winter, I've been using http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-601900-Draft-Guard-Brown/dp/B00078ZJPG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362500117&sr=8-3&keywords=draft+stopper, but the gaps are about 1.5-1.75" large, so the foam will always roll under the door when trying to close it. Are you talking about interior or exterior doors? What are they made of? What room are you trying to isolate? fake edit: I'm asking because sometimes the space under a door exists because there is no return duct in the room, and the air needs a path back to the furnace.
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Mar 5, 2013 17:34
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BoyBlunder posted:I'm looking to "extend" my doors, so that I can stop some draftiness. This past winter, I've been using http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-601900-Draft-Guard-Brown/dp/B00078ZJPG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362500117&sr=8-3&keywords=draft+stopper, but the gaps are about 1.5-1.75" large, so the foam will always roll under the door when trying to close it.
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Mar 5, 2013 17:35
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Are you talking about interior or exterior doors? What are they made of? What room are you trying to isolate? It's for 2 interior doors in a kitchen (the room I'm trying to isolate), leading to an attic & basement. The doors are thin "wood". A General Contractor lived there before me, and gutted the whole place and installed the same interior doors all around. I think they are these doors: http://www.lowes.com/pd_10974-77999-10974_4294859730__?productId=3406604&Ns=p_product_avg_rating|1&pl=1¤tURL=%3FgoToProdList%3Dtrue%26Ns%3Dp_product_avg_rating%7C1&facetInfo= I'll look for "door bottoms", but "door thresholds" seem like a whole different product entirely. Thanks!
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Mar 5, 2013 18:35
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Suave Fedora posted:^ I did this in my house and after the first room you will be laying down wood like a pro. Special tools will be needed like a mallet and iron setters that displace the force of the mallet as you connect slats together. You will also need a miter saw to cut the slats. There are also different patterns you can do but the easiest would probably be to lay down board in a row until you get to the end, cut, then use the remaining cut piece to start the 2nd row. Repeat all the way down. Yeah, I keep hearing "Oh it's a lot easier than you think, you'll get the hang of it really quick," but at the moment it's still pretty overwhelming.
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Mar 5, 2013 18:44
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pseudonordic posted:Gotta spend money to make money. A true fact. Something that I have learned repeatedly is that the cheapest option is only the most economical if you place no value on your time. Sounds like this project might be Suave Fedora's first lesson in that arena.
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Mar 5, 2013 18:53
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